


the moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?

by ali2410



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Crusades Era Joe | Yusuf al-Kaysani & Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Fluff, Historical Inaccuracy, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Introspection, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani is an Incurable Romantic, M/M, Nicky | Nicolò di Genova Needs a Hug, POV Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Romantic Fluff, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, inspired by a japanese saying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:08:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27935193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ali2410/pseuds/ali2410
Summary: “The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?”Yusuf looks at Nicolò, unabashedly, and as he loses himself in the other man's features, he can't help but embrace the warmth that is growing behind his sternum, encasing his lungs and filling his chest.“I could watch it with you forever,” he whispers.orthere's a full moon, nicolò is pretty and yusuf has Feelings
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 6
Kudos: 73





	the moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?

**Author's Note:**

> this work was inspired by the japanese saying "the moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" "i could watch it with you forever" (which is a way to say "i love you" "you too"), which a dear friend of mine (@/cloudninecheoll on twt) told me about - they're not japanese but they are interested in the culture - and the first thing i thought was that i needed to write something about joe and nicky so,, here it is

**月が綺麗ですね** ( _ tsuki ga kirei desune _ )  **↣** “the moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” ; japanese saying

  
  


**☩**

  
  


They stop the horses when they're a few miles away from the battlefield. The sun is setting, and they are both exhausted – coming back to life apparently takes a lot of energy, and all they have been doing these past two days has been killing each other and reviving.

Yusuf leaves Nicolò with the horses to look for wood, and when he comes back two bedrolls have been set, their weapons have been cleaned and the animals have already been tied and fed.

They light the fire in silence, and in silence they eat: neither of them has anything to talk about, and Nicolò’s throat still feels raw from his latest death - Yusuf had cut his throat right after the crusader had cut his arm off. The sky is already dark when they are done eating, and the stars blink down at them like old friends as they clean up.

They look at the flames for a while, until all that remains are the glowing red embers winking up at them. At that point, their attention shifts to the sky, where the stars are still looking down at them, but their eyes immediately go to the Moon.

She stands in the middle of the sky, as if she were the queen of the night, round and shining. She's like a beacon for lost souls, Yusuf thinks as he looks up, and for a moment, as he bathes under the moonlight, he feels at peace with the world.

He's brought back by a melancholic sigh, coming from the man sitting next to him.

Yusuf turns to him, the words  _ tutto bene? _ on the tip of his tongue, but his voice fails when he sees Nicolò's face.

  
  


The Christian's pale eyes reflect the light of the Moon, and they shine like two miniature stars under it. His hair, though matted and dirty with dried blood and sand, frames his thin face and looks soft. His lips are the tiniest bit turned upwards, as if Nicolò is thinking about smiling but doesn't really want to, and Yusuf feels like his breath has been punched out of his lungs.

Nicolò doesn't seem to have realised that he's staring at him, so Yusuf keeps his eyes trained on the man he should consider his worst enemy, drinking in his near ethereal appearance. Even so, when Nicolò speaks Yusuf almost jumps, having been enthralled by his face.

"You know, Yusuf, this moon reminds me of home," the crusader says, voice raw with emotion. "Reminds me of when I used to climb on the roof of my house to look at the night sky with my little sister. She loved the Moon, and even though she knew the myth of Selene by heart she always asked me to tell it to her... Now I don't even know if she's still alive.”

Nicolò's voice breaks on the last few words, and Yusuf has to look away for a second because the longing and the heartbreak is written oh-so-clearly on the other's face that Yusuf can feel his own heart cry out in sympathy.

When he looks back at Nicolò, though, the man isn't crying. He's looking at the big silver Moon in the sky and he's whispering words in Zeneize that Yusuf does not understand, but sound almost like a prayer to him.

  
  


Yusuf doesn't interrupt him, and instead thinks about how many sides there are to this man - this soldier, this priest, this brother.

He thinks about the first dream he had about him, about how terrified and out of place Nicolò felt as he fought against people that he'd been taught to loathe his entire life but didn't really hate. He thinks about Nicolò's feelings of solitude and loneliness in the tent that served as a chapel in the Franks’ camp, about his homesickness, about the look in his eyes when Yusuf killed him the first time.

Yusuf thinks about Nicolò's eyes, light blue - almost unnaturally so - he thinks about his long, light hair and fair skin, and he thinks that maybe – just maybe – hating this man is not what he's supposed to do. He thinks that maybe this man, this  _ kafir _ , has been put in his path for a reason.

Yusuf thinks that hating this man is proving harder than he thought, because how could he hate someone whose eyes shine so brightly and for whom his own heart cries out so loudly in sympathy?

He's shaken out of his thoughts by Nicolò's voice, soft and almost reverent, as he speaks once again.

  
  
  


“The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?”

  
  


Yusuf opens his mouth to reply, but Nicolò's eyes are shining brighter than ever and even though they're glassy with unshed tears, they're still beautiful, and Yusuf's voice fails again.

He looks at Nicolò, unabashedly, and as he loses himself in the other man's features, he can't help but embrace the warmth that is growing behind his sternum, encasing his lungs and filling his chest.

Yusuf smiles.

“I could watch it with you forever,” he whispers in Arabic, not daring to speak louder. 

The Moon smiles down at them, almost motherly, as if she knew what that really meant.

Nicolò turns to him. His eyes are wide and curious, and he leans imperceptibly closer. 

“What does that mean, Yusuf?”

  
  


Yusuf grins mischievously, and softly pushes Nicolò's shoulder with his own before standing up and walking to his bedroll. He lies down on his back and looks up at the night sky, looking at the Moon one last time before closing his eyes. 

  
  


“Who knows, maybe one day I'll tell you,  _ al'abalah _ ,” he says, teasing but soft nonetheless, and he hears Nicolò’s answering huff of laughter. “Maybe one day I’ll tell you.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**☩**

  
  
  
  
  


_ tutto bene?  _ **↣** italian ; everything alright?

_ kafir  _ **↣** arabic ; infidel, faithless

_ al’abalah  _ **↣** arabic ; idiot, goof

**Author's Note:**

> this work was beta'd by @/cloudninecheoll and @/aileeeclipse (twt), all other mistakes are mine
> 
> i'm not a native english speaker, and while i speak italian i don't know arabic, so if there are any mistakes feel free to let me know !!
> 
> follow me on twt @/alistinylixie if u wanna yell about the old guard^^


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